Lee Bell was more than happy to see his Crewe side add a point to their Championship tally following a scrappy draw with Tranmere at Prenton Park.
The Railway men were not without their chances and their best opportunity came after the interval, when Chris Long was brilliantly denied by Luke McGee in the Rovers’ goal
The draw leaves Crewe two points off the automatic promotion places, and Bell felt it was a good result at a tricky venue.
“It’s our first goalless draw of the season and Tranmere away is a tough nut to crack,” he said.
“I thought we were good in the first half and probably the better team. We got into some good positions in the first 25 minutes but couldn’t create a really good chance to get an opportunity on goal.
“The second half was more of a scrappy affair and we weren’t able to keep up the good work we showed in the first. Then we came up with the only real clear-cut chance of the game and the goalkeeper made an unbelievable save to deny Chris Long.
“But if you can’t win the game, and we tried with all the attacking players we had on the pitch, then you make sure you get what you can.
“Full credit to Tranmere as they came into the game in the second half but we’ll take a point and look forward to next week.”
Rovers also caught sight of goal several times, with Connor Jennings and Rob Apter coming close while Brad Walker almost won it in stoppage time with a long-range effort that flashed past the post
Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins said: “It was a competitive game and they are riding high in the league and you can see why. I’m really pleased.
“The first half an hour was a challenge for us but we stayed in the game and had to work a few things out and finished the first half really well.
“We then started the second half really strongly and on the front foot and gave ourselves a chance to win the game.
“It was our first clean sheet for a long, long time and we’ll take that as a positive because we are hard to play against and are competitive.
“I knew it would be a tough game with Crewe being where they are in the table, but we made it a tough game for them too, and I’m really pleased with the players’ attitude and performance today.”
'It's an honour' - Flick delighted by Messi's Barcelona praise
Hansi Flick says it is an "honour" to hear Lionel Messi praise Barcelona's start to the season.
Flick took over as Barcelona head coach in May, with the club making an impressive start to LaLiga, as they sit top on 33 points after 13 matches.
They have won 11 of their games, losing the other two, while they are sixth in the Champions League table, just three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Messi, who spent 17 years at Barcelona before leaving to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, recently described Flick's team as "spectacular", in particular lauding his use of young players in the team.
The German has not shied away from using academy players during his time at Barcelona so far, with Lamine Yamal the standout of the bunch after he carried last season's form into this campaign.
Yamal is the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
When asked how he felt about Messi's comments, Flick was delighted.
"It's an honour to hear the best player in history say that he likes this Barca," he told reporters.
"He follows the team closely, he has his heart set on this club, that means a lot to the youngsters and to the team."
Barcelona return to LaLiga action when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday, looking to extend their lead at the top of the league.
Simeone makes LaLiga history with 700th game in charge of Atletico
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has become the first manager to take charge of 700 games with the same LaLiga club.
The Argentine hit the milestone as his Atleti side welcomed Alaves to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday.
Simeone first took charge of Los Rojiblancos in December 2011 and has gone on to become the most successful manager in the club's history, having brought eight honours to the Spanish capital.
The former midfielder guided Atletico to the LaLiga title in 2014 and 2021, while also overseeing two Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2018 in addition to helping them reach two Champions League finals.
Saturday's game is Simeone's 492nd LaLiga match in charge - the most by any manager at a single club - and he has also managed the third-most games with a single club in the Champions League (109), after Alex Ferguson with Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Atleti have won each of their last four matches across all competitions, and another on Saturday would be the 54-year-old's 300th in the Spanish top flight.
Sheffield United go top of Championship with draw despite Ahmedhodzic red
Sheffield United went top of the Championship following their 2-2 draw away to Coventry City despite twice surrendering the lead.
Chris Wilder's side are one point ahead of second-placed Sunderland ahead of Saturday's other matches although, after Tyrese Campbell put them one up after 13 minutes, they would have been hoping for a bigger lead.
Coventry forward Norman Bassette equalised nine minutes later, but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had the visitors back in front on 34 minutes, having been set up by former Coventry man Gustavo Hamer.
Then came the game-defining incident, with Anel Ahmedhodzic sent off in the 44th minute after grabbing Bassette by his neck and throwing him to the ground. Tempers flared into half-time, but it was the home side who piled on the pressure in the second half.
The managerless Sky Blues got their reward 10 minutes from time through Bobby Thomas, meaning that they have now come back from losing positions to draw in back-to-back matches. They sit 16th in the table.
Elsewhere, Burnley went third after their second straight 1-0 victory as they beat Bristol City on the road. Jaidon Anthony scored the only goal of the game, although the home side created plenty of pressure and saw a penalty claim denied in the second half.
Scott Parker's side, nevertheless, kept their fourth clean sheet in five to get themselves back in the hunt for the top two.
Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough that does neither side many favours in their aim to climb clear of the relegation scrap.
Both goals came within two first-half minutes, with Ollie Tanner getting the visitors ahead from a Callum Robinson rebound in the 34th minute. The lead didn't last long though, with Di'Shon Bernard on hand to scramble home and restore parity almost straight away.
The result leaves Wednesday in 14th, four points above the bottom three, while Cardiff are 19th and just a point above third-bottom Luton Town.
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